Darkness into Oblivion: Quest to Return
by AprilGeminiSaturn
Summary: Look, it only took me five years to post a new chapter! At this rate, I'll only be 50 by the time I finish the story. Anyway, I've decided to take this story in a new direction, however it'll still have the same title so everyone knows what story it is.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I'm on fanfiction.net. I obviously don't own the characters, because i'm making a fanfiction. So, don't sue, because there really is no point. (Sorry if I seem a little harsh)  
  
As a side note, I used to review as I think AprilGeminiSaturn, or was it AprilSaturnGemini, oh well, it was one of those. But now I have an account where I'm actually going to post stuff, yea!  
  
It was a dismal, dreary twilight in dreamland. Fine dirt seemed to litter the air, the wind blew chilingly, and everything seemed to be in shades of grey. The pre-night held a certain tension in it, a tension that gave even the simplest of creatures a terrible sense of foreboding. As the light turned darker, and the whole world seemed to become dimmer and more murkey, the inhabitants of Cappytown shivered as they gazed out from behind their window curtains, or peeked around their doors. They were more used to calm, peaceful nights, not nights where it seemed the very air they breath could explode in one terrific, terrible calamity.  
Everyone in King Dedede's castle seemed more nervous and uptight than usual.  
The resounding echoes of Dedede's shouts could be heard throughout the castle, as his screams and yells continuously beat upon Escargoon's ears. It seemed the poor snail could not go for more than five seconds before he was screeched at. King Dedede, for his part, felt a tight knotting in his stomache, and everything seemed to make him quiver. He noticed with a slight disgust that every motion seemed to cause him to jump out of his seat.  
Tiff, Tuff, and their parents were placed in tense rigedness about their large sitting room, in various positions. Lady Like simply sat straight upright upon the couch, her hands folded neatly on her lap, her eyes dancing and darting about various locations. Sir Ebram was seated next to his wife, also with an unatural stiffness in his posture. Tuff was playing on the floor with some of his old toys; he was lying stomached down on the rug and humming a nervous melody to himself, almost as if he were awaiting some great event with nervous anticipation. Tiff was attempting to study, but was simply too restless to do soo. Sitting in the big armchair, every g  
  
time Tiff tried to read a sentence from her book, she would suddenly look up as if she expected some huge shadow to come hurtling toward her small, frightened form.  
Medaknight and company were currently patrolling the castle. This tense, this quietness, something was wrong. Medaknight was sure of it, and he wasn't going to let his guard down anytime soon. So, Sword, Blade, and him resolved to make more rounds about the castle than usual, rather than let themselves be taken by suprise.  
Indeed, even Kirby was sensing something. What that something was, he was not yet old enough to understand. Yet it was enough to make him wait in his small house with a quiet anticipation, he knew that something was going to happen. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: It's a fanfiction. Characters don't belong to me (except for Dart and Soul), and I make no money off of this. If I did, I'd be paying off all my college loans (cries at the thought of having to)

Note: If you want to see what Dart looks like, head over to my deviantart account. Username is aprilgeminisaturn. Yes, I know, very creative. However, only go there if you want spoilers about what the basic plot of the story is (yes, the description for my character pretty much gives a summary).

Chapter 2

Cold filtered through Soul's particles, and he shuffled. The shape shifter bent over the squawking chicken and slit its throat with a crude spear. Soul threw the animal aside, and glanced at his only companion a few feet away. The girl lay on the ice, breathing slowly. Soul turned back to his fire. 

"It's been a while since we've heard from Nightmare, hasn't it?" Soul said.

The girl didn't respond. She never did.

"It's too bad you're not awake. The bird is plump this time." Soul said.

The girl shifted.

"I had a dream the other day. You and I went down to the beach. You found some sea glass."

Soul tore off a few branches from the dying tumbleweed he'd picked earlier. He threw the sticks into the fire, and watched as the flames shot several feet into the air.

"It wasn't even Nightmare controlling your body this time. Nope. Just you and me at the beach. I don't know how you'd gotten rid of the piece of Nightmare in you, but you had. You were awake and everything and you were you. I wish I wasn't assigned to guard you, you're making me lose my marbles." Soul said, and then sighed.

Soul turned back to the girl. He smiled and held his hand out before frowning and gazing back at the flames.

"It's cold again today."

"Yes it is." The girl said. In her dreams, she sat on a patch of clover. Soul couldn't hear her response, but she felt it would be rude if she didn't try to answer. The girl dipped her fingers into the oil puddle besides her. Ripples disrupted her orange eyes. The image of her grey hair, held back with an orange bead, quivered. She saw Nightmares' eyes flash in the puddle, and her eyes narrowed.

"Dart, he's never done that before. What does it mean?" The girl said to herself.

"Wake up, of course."

Dart shot up, glancing around.

"Nothing but myself has ever answered before. Who's there?! Show yourself!" Dart said.

Dart clutched the silver name tags around her neck, and then gasped when the tags jingled. 

"Wake up before he does." The jiggling of the tags was starting to become a cacophony. 

A slurping noise drew Dart's gaze to the side. The oil puddle was spreading. It covered the ground, and Dart's feet, up to a few inches. The depth of the puddle increased, rising up to the top of Dart's green boots. Dart held her hands up, twisting her mouth in a disgusted sneer. 

"I'll wake up then, but I have to know how first!" Dart said.

"It's a dream." The voice said.

"Oh." Dart said, and then woke up.

Soul gaped and dropped the stick he'd been poking the fire with. Dart glanced about her. She was in an ice cave. To her left was a small ball of light, a dead chicken, a fire, and the exit. The small ball of light seemed to be staring at her. It flattened itself, and then stretched in nervousness.

"Are you St. Elmo's fire? Never mind. Move, quickly. I've got to get rid of him before he wakes up completely." Dart said.

The ball of light shot backwards from the fire and to the cave's side. Dart reached into the pockets of her shorts, and pulled out a wooden tube. She drew out two strips of paper, and glared at the chicken's corpse. Dart slapped one strip onto the chicken's back, and placed the other on her own forehead. The girl squinted.

"Let me call upon the spirits, and switch these souls." Dart said.

"But the chicken's dead. It doesn't have a soul anymore." Soul said.

"Exactly." Dart grinned.

The papers crumpled up into ashes. A breeze scattered them across the floor. The chicken sat up as its previously cloudy eyes turned red. Soul cringed, scuttling backwards. Dart edged toward Soul as the chicken swayed on the ground. Dart knelt down, and whispered at Soul.

"Listen, what powers do you have?" Dart said.

"I can turn into things." Soul said.

"I noticed we seem to be pretty high up. Can you turn into a bird?"

"A big bird?" Soul said.

"Yes, just big enough to clear the entrance." Dart said.

"Damn you!" The chicken said.

Dart and Soul turned back toward the campfire. The bird was flapping its wings and stamping its feet on the ground.

"I was close, close! Damn you!" The bird said again.

The chicken clucked loudly while stamping its feet, before it suddenly calmed down.

"Ah, I still have my powers, even in this body." The chicken said.

"Time to go." Dart said, picking Soul up and throwing a star-shaped bomb at the chicken. Dart ran toward the exit. The sounds of flapping and a large bang followed Dart and Soul to the cave's mouth. Dart looked down.

"Are you sure this is-" Soul said, scrunching down in Dart's arms. Dart ran toward the ledge, and leapt off. Cold air scrubbed at Dart's skin as they fell. Soul expanded, and the part of Soul still in Dart's arms turned hard. Instead of feeling like a cold steam cloud, this part of Soul felt rough and scaly. Soon, the cloud took on the shape of claws. Dart started slipping from the giant claws until only her hands clutched at the feet. The feet gave a jolt up, and Dart felt herself lurch upwards. Dart felt a brush of panic when she realized she was no longer holding onto anything, and then Dart felt a tinge of pain as something clamped down on her shoulders. It dug into her skin, however Dart went limp with relief when she realized the things on her shoulders were claws and that they were still lurching upward. 

Soon, Dart and Soul flew past the cave's entrance. Squawking followed them up into the clouds, but the chicken did not appear. 

"So my name's Dart." Dart said, wrapping her hands around the bird's thick legs.

"My name's Soul." Soul said, keeping his eyes on the horizon. 

"I just wanted to let you know that I agree with you. It is cold again today." Dart said.

Soul's bird eyes widened and Dart felt a spike in Soul's energy field. 

"You heard me all that time?" Soul said.

"You certainly had a lot of things to say, considering how long it felt. How long was it?" Dart said.

"300 years." Soul said. 

Dart drew in a breath.

"Let's get off this world. The others will be worried about me."

"The others are dead."

Dart glanced up at Soul in surprise, and then glared. She wrenched her head to the side.

"Not all of them. We don't go down easy like that." Dart said.

"There might be some. I've heard of a few. Sir Arthur. Metaknight." Soul said.

"Alright then."

"What about me?" Soul said.

"Are you going back to Nightmare?" Dart said.

Soul snorted.

"As if. He'd kill me as soon as he saw me." 

"Stick around with me kid." Dart said, grinning victoriously.

"I think I'm older than you." Soul said.

"Minor detail." Dart said.

Metaknight stopped, and Sword and Blade turned around.

"Sir, what's wrong?" Blade said.

Metaknight didn't move. The tenseness had changed. Anxiety morphed into dread, and Metaknight shook his head while his eyes turned red. 

"Gather Sir Ebrum's family and I'll get Kirby. Meet me in my room. Use as much stealth as possible." Metaknight said before rushing toward the castle's drawbridge. 

Sword and Blade looked at each other.

"Is it just me, or is there a sense of doom now?" Blade said.

"I wish I could say it was the pizza you had. C'mon, let's go."

Sword ran into the shadows obscuring the hall, and Blade followed. 


End file.
